Charm Bracelets and Guitar Picks
by CursedEternity
Summary: Naya Cusitar lost both her parents in an accident. To escape from everything that reminds her of her loss, she moves to Tokyo for university. One day she stumbles on a quiet coffee shop and crosses paths with a handsome, talented guitar player who will help her rediscover happiness and heal her shattered soul. This is their story from the beginning. An Alice Nine story. ToraxOC
1. Prologue

Prologue

The house was buzzing with the voices and laughing of forty people. Numerous groups of them formed and reformed as individuals went from one covey to another, giving the impression of an undulating lifeform. Naya Cusitar sat on the couch with one of these groups, a rolled dollar bill made its way around as the lines on the table disappeared one by one. After snorting a line of coke, Naya looked around the room and her eyes met those of a guy she had seen on several occasions. His dark eyes observed her with an air of disapproval as he took swigs of the beer he held in his hand. He was a rather intimidating fellow with black hair, about 6'2", a powerful build, and an aura around him that commanded respect among the derelict reprobates that made up the present company. No one actually knew the guy's name, but he was known to people in the dark circle of deviance as Raven. Naya had talked to him a couple times and she always got the impression that she had offended him though she could never figure out how. She hardly knew the man and their acquaintence was certainly not long enough to have provided opportunity of rendering such a malfeasance. Yet he was standing there, giving her the same look he always had in the last three months. She turned her gaze from him and inhaled another line.

Raven took another long swill of his beer, emptying the bottle. Putting the bottle on the mantle he was leaning against, he turned from her and went into the kitchen for another beer. He didn't know why the teenage brunette girl caught his attention. He'd seen many people come and go within the Denver drug circles, but he'd never cared. To him, they were all the same. They all had their reasons for shooting up, snorting or smoking and she likely did too. But there was something about her that was all wrong, something he had never sensed with anyone else he'd come across. There was little variation among the common addicts. Their lifestyle had led them to the streets and crackhouses and they adapted to the meanness of that existance, slowly losing their souls as time went on. They all belonged there, she didn't.

The vision he had the first time he'd seen her flashed in his mind again. An image of a tallish, Asian boy with short half black, half blonde hair in a mohawk, with a piercing on the right side of his lip and glasses. Along with the image was his tenor voice calling 'Naya-san' and a smile as his gaze turned. He'd had visions like these since he was a child. It wasn't premontion, or ESP or anything, at least nothing that would really fit the definition of such. Merely images that came to him and he never knew what they were. They were usually nothing but images. This one however was different in the fact he could hear this boy's voice calling to her accompanied by the feeling this person was important in a crucial way. He couldn't discern anything more beyond this, and it bothered him seeing her amongst the lowest tier of civilized society. Something within him screamed she wasn't where she should be. This just added to Raven's confusion as to why he'd notice this one out of many when he'd never paid attention to anyone else before. He sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the familar pressure and headache that usually followed his visions. Aside from his crappy childhood, it was the reason he did heroin and meth. Opening the fridge, he took a beer out and after popping the cap off, he emptied half the bottle in one draught.

A few hours later, Naya stepped outside of the house and stood on the porch. She breathed in the fragrant air of the warm, July night, the muted sound of merriment and obnoxious voices behind her. She gazed at the twinkling lights of the city below and tried not to let the sadness that had been her world for the last three months invade her coke addled mind. The door opened behind her and panicked voices came from within as several people came running out of the house. A few of the guys jumped over the porch rail and ran at full speed away from the house in all directions, some girls following them. A few seconds later, half the people in the house came running out the front door, freaking out and yelling as they ran. Suddenly she felt something grip her elbow. She turned her head and saw Raven.

'We gotta go. Now!' he barked sternly as he pulled her along with him.

'What's going on?' she asked confused

'Someone overdosed and the cops will swarm this place in a few minutes.' he answered, his voice surprisingly calm.

He dragged her down the street and turned the corner, never letting up his grip on her arm. After they had gone two blocks down, they heard sirens and Naya turned to look up the street. An ambulance sped up the road followed by two police cars. Her eyes widened in shock as she turned to stare at his handsome face.

After they had walked several more blocks in silence, he turned into a neighbourhood park and sat down on a bench just outside the reach of a lamp that illuminated the path next to a playground.

'Where do you live?' he inquired after another several minutes of silence.

'Applewood.' she answered quietly, still reeling.

'That's in Lakewood isn't it?'

Naya only nodded.

'If we head to the rail station now, we should be able to catch the last train.' he muttered. 'Come on, I'll take you home.'

Naya stood up and followed him out of the park in the direction of the train station.

They rode the 30 minute train ride in silence. Naya was still trying to grasp the night's events as Raven tried not to think at all. They finally got off the train at Oak station and he let Naya lead the way to her house. After another 15 minutes, she turned up the walk way of a green two story house with red brick accents, a detached garage and a large bay window on the right side. Raven whistled slowly as he took in the house in front of door was framed on both sides with frosted glass and the door itself was inlaid with two windows. The house was dark and the only sound was a light wind caressing the leaves in the nearby trees. Naya went up to the door and pulled out her keys.

'Aren't you worried about waking your parents?' he asked in a soft voice.

Naya froze. The sudden stiffness in her entire body was not lost on him.

'What the hell are you doing here?' he asked, sharply. 'You have a beautiful house, you strike me as someone who excels in academics and you have your whole life ahead of you. What the hell are you doing with people like me?'

Naya said nothing and kept her gaze on the door.

'Answer me, damn it' he growled as he marched up behind her and whirled her around to face him.

'They're gone, ok,' she burst out, tears falling down her face. 'Is that what you want to know? My parents died three months ago. I have nothing left. The pain is too much and I can't deal with it. All I see when I go to sleep is their coffins. That image haunts every minute of the day. I come home and all there is nothing but dead silence. I miss hearing my mom say 'Hi honey, welcome home' when I get home from school. I only go to school to get away from the deafening silence that is my reality. I used to excel in academics but I just don't care anymore. I'm stuck living with a pain that won't leave me. Hell I don't even care if I live or die. Happy now?'

'Someone cares very much if you live or die.' he whispered without thinking.

'What?' she snapped.

Raven sighed. Now he knew why she had gotten into drugs but that didn't change the fact she didn't belong there. The image and voice of that asian boy floated into his mind again.

'You don't belong among us lowlifes,' he said firmly, turning his dark eyes to hers. 'There is someone out there that needs you and if you keep coming around us, you'll end up dead. You say now that you don't care if you live or die, but I've heard that a million times from people who are like you. Lost, scared of the path they were unknowingly dropped on. They all say that, but as they slowly waste away, they realize as the end creeps ever closer that death was not what they really wanted. So you can just stop saying that cause that's bullshit.'

She glared at him.

'You dishonor your parents in the worst possible way with what you're doing,' he continued as he stepped menacingly toward her.

'How dare you say that,' she replied furiously. 'You don't know anything about them.'

'I don't need to know them to understand that the last thing any parent would want is watching their child self destruct.' he growled, venomously. 'How dare you treat their memories with such blatant disregard. You're a selfish bitch using them as a reason for your shabby behaviour right now.'

Her eyes flashed angrily as she reached up to punch him, but he grabbed her arm and held her wrist firmly.

'Now get in that house.' he grunted dangerously.

They stared at each other for several minutes before Naya turned and unlocked the door. He stepped in after her and closed the door after she flipped the foyer light on.

Raven stayed with her for a few weeks and helped her through withdrawl. Her detox wasn't as severe as most people he knew, but then she hadn't been using for that long. He listened when she ranted, held her when she cried, stayed by her while she slept. Though he hadn't been successful in any of his attempts to detox, he knew well enough what she was going through and was able to guide her through it. Once he felt she was over the worst of it, he decided it was time to leave her. He gave her some suggestions and advice on dealing with cravings and anxiety. He knew it would be a rocky road ahead for her, but he had a feeling she would be alright once she found her way.

'Are you sure you'll be ok?' he asked as he stood on the front step.

'I think so,' she answered, smiling slightly. 'I hope so anyway.'

'You've come this far out of drug hell,' he replied encouragingly. 'Keep going, and don't look back. Promise?'

'I promise.' she said as she hugged him. 'Thank you for being here with me.'

'No problem,' he remarked, hugging her back. 'but if I ever see you around those people again, you and I are gonna have it out.'

He turned and headed down the walkway. He stopped and turned to her.

'Remember what I said that night,' he reminded her. 'There's someone out there waiting for you. You need to find your way to them.'

She nodded as he walked off the lawn and headed down the street. She watched him until he disappeared around a corner. She was a little sad to think she would never see him again. Unbeknownst to her, he kept his eye on her to make sure she never faltered.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

' April, 2013

Tokyo, Japan

Naya walked into the Nico Nico office wondering why the hell Tora had told her to come here at such an ungodly hour. She swore at him in her mind since he didn't even let her have a cup of coffee before he all but shoved her out the car door when he dropped her off. She made a mental note to maim him later for that. He knew damn well she couldn't function let alone be sociable at 9 am without at least two cups of coffee. Oh yes, she thought to herself, you're so gonna get it. It then occurred to her that he was even less likely to be awake this early than she was. What the hell is going on with him this morning? He was definitely acting weird.

'Naya-san,' she heard the girl at the reception desk call cheerily to her. 'Good morning.'

That was a matter of perspective. Naya inwardly cringed. She hated overly cheery people at this hour of the day.

'Tora-san asked me to give you this when you came in.' the girl said, smiling as she held out an envelope.

Naya quirked an eyebrow and wandered over to the desk. She took the envelope from her and opened it. Unfolding the piece of paper tucked within it, she recognized Tora's writing.

'Thirteen years ago, our paths crossed

It's been a wild ride since then,

with many twists and turns along the way.

Like being lost without having a map,

An adventure I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Now that we have gone this far, let's navigate where we have been

So we can discover where to go next.

Let's start this journey by returning to the place where we first met.'

Naya crinkled her nose. He really was acting weird, but at the same time she couldn't deny being curious about what he was going on about.

'Alright, I'll play along.' she muttered to herself as she headed out the office door, thinking she might end up regretting playing along by noon.

'Naya!' she turned her head to see one of Alice Nine's staff members waving her over.

She jogged across the parking lot and greeted Matsuyama.

'Get in,' he said as he hopped behind the wheel. 'Tora asked me to take you around today.'

She quirked her eyebrow again but wasn't gonna turn down a ride since the coffee shop where they met was quite far. Shrugging, she skipped to the other side of the van and slid in the passenger seat. There was another staff member with a camera seated behind them. She opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. She just shook her head instead. Her brain really couldn't take anymore weirdness, not without a pot of coffee anyway. Matsuyama turned on the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

At least the first place she had to go to was an easy one. They still went to The Grind whenever they got the chance to.

'Cause its you and me and all other people

And I don't know why

But I can't keep my eyes off of you'

-You and Me, Lifehouse

August, 1999

'Ladies and gentleman, we have begun our descent to Narita airport. The weather is sunny and 29 degrees celsius. The time is 2:20 pm. We will be landing in 30 minutes. We hope you enjoyed your flight. Thank you for flying Japan Airlines.'

Naya's eyes fluttered open as the announcement was repeated in japanese. She stretched as much as she could in her seat as she attempted to wake up. Gazing out the window, she saw the blue ocean beneath her that seemed to encompass infinity itself. She was awed by how vast the earth really was. She kept her gaze out the window and she soon saw the coastline of Tokyo come into view. As the plane got lower and Tokyo expanded, she was rather struck dumb by how big it really was. She knew Tokyo was a stupidly large city but she had no idea how large it was really was. There was no end to the sea of concrete, glass and greenery that was spread outside her window like cream cheese on toast, giving the impression the entire country was one city. Damn, she thought to herself.

The plane landed and she reached above her seat to grab her backpack. She stood quietly as the passengers slowly filed out of the plane. Once she was out, she followed the people who walked in front of her to the baggage area and waited for her suitcases. The airport was packed and the overhead intercom made numerous announcements in japanese. After 15 minutes, she found her luggage and taking it off the belt, made her way to customs. An hour and half and a baggage search later, she left the customs area and made her way out of the airport. The airport was huge and she hoped she wouldn't get lost trying to find the front entrance. After what seemed like hours to her in a completely unfamiliar place, she stood outside in the refreshing, bright sunshine. She hailed a cab and in her beginner's japanese, asked the driver to take her to the Komaba International House Main at the University of Tokyo. The driver pulled out of the airport and headed out. Naya stared out the window of the cab stunned by the towering skyscrapers, struck dumb once again by the streets choking with both cars and pedestrians on the sidewalks. She was surprised by the occasional temple nestled in the shadows of the skyscrapers. She swallowed nervously as she wondered if she could ever get used to a place like this. Denver was a big city with millions of people, but compared to Tokyo, it was merely a small village that if you blinked, you missed it. The long cab ride seemed to end in only a few minutes as she was mesmerized by her surroundings. The driver stopped and she came back to herself. She paid the man and stepped out of the car. The driver hopped out and went to the trunk. He took her four suitcases and storage bin out of the car. She thanked him and bowed. As he drove off, she looked at the huge six floor building in front of her.

'Well here goes.' she muttered, sounding more confident than she felt.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulders, she grabbed two of her suitcases wishing she didn't have to leave the other two in the middle of the sidewalk for the moment.

'Oh hey,' she heard a voice. 'Let me help you with those'

She turned and saw a rather tall girl with short, boyish sandy blonde hair and green eyes. The girl smiled as she took the handles of the other two suitcases.

'Which floor are you on?' she asked as she started heading into the building.

'Fourth floor, room 410.' Naya answered, following the girl.

'That's cool,' she replied, grinning. 'I'm on the fourth floor too. Just down the hall from you in 422'

Naya went to the dorm office and got her room key. She then followed her companion into the elevator. When they reached the 4th floor, they went down the hall, passing a few people along the way. They stopped at room 410 and Naya took out the room key. Opening the door, she let the girl into the room before following her in.

'Just put those down where ever. I'll deal with them later.' Naya said, closing the door.

'Sure thing,' the other girl chirped. 'Oh I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself. My name is Amarah'

'I'm Naya,' she answered smiling. 'When did you arrive here?'

'Yesterday actually,' Amarah replied, snickering. 'I came from Malta, Montana and believe me, I'm never taking that trip again!'

'Long trip?' Naya commented, laughing.

'That is an understatement,' Amarah visibly cringed as she stepped out of the room. 'in total it was a 24 hour trip.'

'And here I thought a 14 hour flight was horrid.' Naya laughed as she and Amarah went back downstairs to get her storage bin.

After the storage bin was safely in Naya's dorm room, the two girls spent the rest of the afternoon talking as Naya unpacked. They found they had alot in common. They both liked the same music, some of the same bands and that they both played the guitar. A mutual love of Star Trek held a promise of marathon nights with the combined season sets the girls each had. Before long, it was 7 pm and Naya felt oddly jet lagged even though she had slept most of the flight.

'If you're feeling up to it,' Amarah said as she opened the door. 'do you want to go and explore the area with me tomorrow?'

'Sure,' Naya agreed, grinning. 'it would definitely be a good thing to figure out where we're going and where the stores are before school starts'

'Cool,' Amarah smirked. 'let's meet up at noon and we'll head out and hope we don't get lost'

'Sounds good.'

The two girls said goodnight and Naya crawled in her bed. Within minutes, the jet lag won the battle.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A month had gone by since Naya's arrival in Japan and she had gotten used to the hum of japanese school life. She and Amarah had quickly become inseparable. In the first few days, Tokyo terrified her but with Amarah, it wasn't such an intimidating place. It's always more fun when there's someone just as scared and questioning their sanity as much as you are. They were soon joined by two other girls from the dorm who were more than happy to show them the ins and outs of Japan and help them learn japanese.

Mina Hirashima was from Nagoya and was best described as a free spirit. Her grandmother had been a part of the hippy counterculture in the US in the 1960s and had found the freedom to be more herself in that lifestyle. She'd had her two children with her when she'd lived overseas so they grew up in a less stringent society and were encouraged by their mother to be who they wanted to be even after they'd moved back to Japan in early 1971. Naturally, Mina's mother was still of the mind that children should choose their own paths which was rather at odds with japanese society which is comparatively rather strict in what path a child should follow. One's happiness in life is not considered. Not that she completely dismissed the japanese way of being. Mina as a consequence marched to the beat of her own drum. While her school years demanded conformity, she'd been just different enough to slide under the radar. When she started university, she'd dyed her mid back length hair blonde with blue streaks though she'd change the color of her streaks every so often. Owing to the influence of her grandmother whom she was very close with, she'd grown up with a love for classic rock from the '60s and '70s, but she had a fondness for music in general. She had done taiko drumming from the age of seven to twelve but changed to a drum kit when she chanced to hear 'Painkiller' by Judas Priest at a friend's house. While her parents had initially raised their eyebrows, it wasn't long before the song was heard in the neighbourhood. Thankfully, the family had lived in their house for 20 years and the neighbours knew them well enough to not be bothered by it.

Seriina Asai, on the other hand was less flamboyant, though she had her moments. She was from Saitama and not being keen on commuting an hour a day to and from the university, she had been fortunate enough to get a dorm room. Seriina usually kept her long, sleek black hair up though the style changed depending on how she was feeling that day. One day it was a pony tail, another day, pig tails or a braid. She loved to laugh and always had a video camera in her hand. Her reasoning was you never know when something funny will happen. At first people in the dorm were a little weirded out by her hobby, but it wasn't long before they got used to it and were always quick to wave when the camera happened to be on them by accident or design. She thankfully knew where the off button was and when not to record something.

One afternoon in early October, the four girls were sitting under a tree in the Hakuinsha Pavilion enjoying a rather warm autumn day. Naya was surprised to find she enjoyed the bright colors of the leaves and gazed around at the trees. She wasn't fond of fall for the simple fact it meant she'd be freezing her ass off for six months, but here the colors seemed to take on an almost ethereal glow that made her stop and admire the season. It had also made her lose track of time. She lifted her arm to brush a stray piece of hair and caught a glimpse of her watch.

'Oh my god!' she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

'What's the matter?' Mina asked, curiously.

'I'm gonna be late for class!' Naya answered panicking. 'I'll catch you guys later.'

She grabbed her backpack and ran as fast as she could to the other side of the campus. She ran inside of building 14 and up the stairs to the third floor taking them two at a time. By the time she got to her classroom, she was so tired that she practically crawled to her desk and laying her head on the table, tried to catch her breath. The professor began his lecture and she lifted her head in an effort to look like she was paying attention. After about 20 minutes, she could barely keep her eyes open. Having studied most of the night, she'd gotten maybe three hours of sleep and was proud of herself for managing to keep her tiredness at bay. Her marathon sprint across the campus, however, rendered her efforts moot. She caught herself sleeping and jerked herself awake, but sleep was demanding her attention and she sat up and pinched her arm repeatedly in an attempt to stay awake.

'Psst.' came a hiss from beside her.

Turning her head, she saw a girl with long black hair and crystal clear brown eyes beside her.

'You can have a nap if you want,' the girl whispered.

'I can't do that.' Naya whispered back. 'I don't want to get in trouble for sleeping in class.'

'You won't.' she answered, smirking 'Students always sleep in class here. It's totally normal and teachers don't notice. Or if they do, they never say anything.'

Naya gazed wide eyed at her.

'Sleeping in class is practically an expectation.' the girl continued.

'But I don't want to risk not being awake when class ends.' Naya replied, not convinced.

'I'll wake you up,' was the answer. 'so have a nap.'

Naya shrugged and put her head on her arms. She could've sworn she'd only been asleep for ten minutes when she felt someone poking her in the ribs. Snapping her eyes open and she saw the girl standing above her, grinning.

'Have a good nap?' she asked.

'If you can call it that.' Naya said, yawning.

She gathered up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder, she headed towards the door.

'Oh damn it!' she suddenly burst out. 'I totally missed out on notes.'

Naya hung her head and groaned loudly.

'I'll copy them out tonight and give them to you next class.' her companion offered, snickering.

Naya shot her a grateful look.

'Name's Reiha by the way.' she said giving a slight bow.

Naya introduced herself and the two girls headed down the stairs and out into the pathway outside. Naya met up with Amarah, Seriina and Mina back at the pavilion with her new friend in tow. Reiha sat with them and chatted for a bit before she ran off to catch the train home.

Reiha Iori was a bit of a solitary person. Introverted, she didn't talk to many people beyond a nod to those she recognized by sight from her classes. Her family owned a temple in Kita ward and she had been trained by her grandfather to take it over when he could no longer run it. He had encouraged her to continue with her education for something to do in the meantime because as he'd said, he had no intention of dying yet. Her mother had died when she was two and she never knew her father but that wasn't something that had bothered her in her life. Her grandfather had taught her that things are the way they are and since you can't do anything about it most of the time, you may as well roll with it like water off a duck's back. She usually wore a long black trench coat and it was oddly the one way she could be picked out in a crowd of people. When she did get to know people, she was quick to make a teasing joke and was a very sociable person. It surprised her how easily she was comfortable around Naya and the other three and it, too, didn't take long before the quartet became a quintet. One thing that always amazed her was how she felt like she'd known these girls forever right from the first time she met them.

A week later, Naya headed out of the dorm and walked toward the main gate of Komaba I campus. Making her way to the train station, she felt rather apprehensive. Annoyed by Mina's pestering to get off campus and explore the wide world of Tokyo, she finally decided to do it. As she stood on the train platform, it took every ounce of self control she had to keep her feet planted where they were. It wasn't the idea of getting off campus and out of her comfort zone that scared her, it was getting lost in the vastness of the city. As the train pulled up, she prayed she would be able to find her way back.

'I'm brave!' she muttered to herself. 'I can do this!'

Taking a deep breath, she stepped on the train.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Naya stepped off the train after about 30 minutes. She didn't dare go any further cause she knew she'd never get back to the dorm. She slowly walked around the station as she tried to find her way out. She turned down a nearby hallway and caught sight of a tiny stairway. Heading straight for it, she glanced at the sign above that read 'Kanda Station' and made a mental note to remember that. She went up the three stairs and saw another set of stairs that led outside. She stood at the top of the stairs and gazed at the street around her. She tried to note anything that she could use as a landmark to find her way back. She was surprised at how easy it was to get out of the station, shuddering as she remembered Shibuya Station and if it hadn't been for Mina and Seriina, she probably would've never gotten out of there. After several minutes, she took another deep breath and stepped down the street. She went about three blocks because she didn't want to go too far from the station entrance and turned down a little side street. She raised her eyebrows at how narrow the street was, but slowly walked through it eyeing the shops that it contained. Several had lanterns dangling from overhangs above the doors, some had wooden doors and windows that had checker board windows, and others had nothing but a door and a small window. Sometimes she could make out the names of the shops but others she couldn't read it because her knowledge of kanji wasn't quite that advanced.

Turning down another, even smaller side street, she came out onto another street and made her way down toward what she hoped was the main road back to the station entrance. There were quite a few people walking along the shops on this street so she tried to avoid running into people. She suddenly stopped and looked around her. A few doors in front of her, she made out a sign that she was actually able to read. It said 'The Grind' and knowing there had to be coffee there, she made her way to it and opened the wooden door. Stepping inside, she was shocked at how big the place was given that on the outside, it looked like it could barely fit twenty people in it. There were two rows of square tables and chairs that ran down the middle of the room. On the right side booths with cloth covered cushions ran along the wall. On the opposite side there was a long shelf that ran the length of the wall with numerous stools that were pushed underneath. In front of the window were three small tables with a cushioned bench along the wall beneath the windows and three chairs that faced the window. She nodded in approval and made her way to the counter toward the back. It too had stools along the length of it for anyone who preferred sitting at the counter. There was a large cooler next to it that was filled with pieces of cake, brownies, cheesecake, date squares and a few other delicacies.

Seriina would die if she saw this. Naya thought to herself as she smirked.

'Welcome' she heard a deep voice say.

She turned and saw a rather handsome guy standing behind the counter. He was about 30ish with short black hair and had a smile that would definitely make a person feel welcome.

'What can I get for you?' he asked pleasantly.

'This might sound weird,' she began shyly. 'but do you by chance have flavored coffee?'

'Sure do,' he answered cheerfully. 'The flavor today is hazelnut cream'

Naya nearly jumped for joy.

'Large, please.' she said happily. 'The largest you have.'

The man nodded and grabbed a very large glass mug off the shelf behind him. Naya's eyes widened when she saw just how big a large was. Finishing that should keep her caffeine level good for at least a few days. The man turned back to the counter and placed the steaming mug on the counter.

'That will be 250 yen.' he said, grinning again.

Naya fished out her wallet and paid him.

'Cream and sugar is on the other side of the cooler.'

She nodded, grabbed her coffee and went to get some sugar. She sat down at a booth at the very back of the cafe and sipped her coffee. Right beside her table was a couch, two chairs and a coffee table. She nodded again in approval and looked at her surroundings. There were various pictures covering the wall. Some were outside still scenes, prints perhaps of paintings and a few were whimsical cariatures of she had no idea what. The booths had small lamps near the wall on the tables, and the fixtures hanging above the other tables were rather elegant flower patterns. The roof also had bar lights that probably made the room really bright when it got dark. This was definitely a comfortable place and the coffee was to die for. She decided then and there she would make another trip.

'New here, huh?' the proprietor asked, curiously as he began wiping the tables with a damp cloth.

'Yep,' Naya replied sheepishly. 'Though I'm not exactly sure where 'here' is.'

'Well,' he answered, moving to another table. 'you're in Chiyoda ward.'

Naya shook her head as she had no idea what that meant, let alone where it was.

'Let me guess,' he said laughing. 'you're a student and this is your first time venturing out beyond the campus.'

'How did you know?' she asked, amazed.

'Cause I was you several years ago.' he commented, grinning. 'I'm from Kobe and I chose to come here for university cause I really wanted to get out of my hometown. You'd think growing up in another large japanese city that Tokyo would be nothing to me, but Tokyo is in a class for itself. Nothing prepares you for this city.'

'I'll say,' Naya agreed, amused. 'I thought Denver was a big city, but when I was flying over as the plane was landing, I nearly died at how big Tokyo was. I was tempted to write my aunt a letter telling her that if she never hears from me again, its because I got lost and any search party she sends was likely to be lost as well.'

He burst out laughing as he headed back behind the counter. Naya finished her coffee and decided it was time to go back to the dorm. She took the mug up to the counter and thanked her host for the nice conversation and the delicious coffee.

'I hope to see you again.' he said, smiling as she headed toward the door. 'I also hope you don't get lost on your way back.'

'I most certainly will,' she answered, smiling back. 'and pray for me!'

She stepped out into the street that was even more crowded than before and made her way back to the station entrance two blocks away.

'Konnichiwa, Matsuda-san.' Naya called as she walked through the door of the Grind. She headed toward the back of the shop, dumped her backpack on a table at the back corner which had become her favorite place to sit.

'Hey!' Matsuda answered, as he turned and grabbed one of the large mugs off the shelf.

After filling it with flavored coffee, he placed it on the counter in front of her. She paid him and sauntered over to the shelf beside the cooler. It seemed funny to her that after only two weeks of coming here almost every day, she didn't have to order anymore. He already knew.

'I think I need to find another coffee place already,' she said jokingly as she stirred the sugar into her coffee.

'Why's that?' Matsuda asked curiously.

'You know me too well already.' she answered as she headed to her table.

'Well any good host would know what their regular customers want before they even ask,' he answered, grinning.

'So I'm a regular now?' Naya asked as she sat down.

'Yep,' he replied, smirking. 'If I didn't close, none of you regulars would leave.'

Naya laughed as she unzipped her backpack and pulled out her binder and some notebooks. She fished out her discman and flipped through her cd case for something to listen to while she studied. After settling on Vivaldi, she popped the cd into the player and hit play. She opened her binder, grabbed the notebook that corresponded to her biology class and began copying the day's notes.

An hour later and finishing her anthropology notes, Naya decided to stop procrastinating on her math homework. How she hated math! She'd always done well in the torturous subject but that didn't stop her from loathing it. She was rifling through her backpack for her math assignment and textbook when she heard a voice that was loud enough to hear through her headphones.

'Who the hell pissed off the wind gods?'

Naya frowned as she looked up and saw a guy she'd seen here a few times before. He was rather tall, she guessed about 5'9", slim with short-ish black hair that was spiked in the back. He was wearing his glasses but she'd seen him without them before. He had brown eyes, high cheekbones and a wide grin. He wasn't actually bad looking if one considered such things. He took off his jacket and tossed it onto the bench of one of the window tables. He was wearing a black shirt that had a tiger on the front that appeared to be roaring, and black jeans. She watched as he went to the counter and started talking to Matsuda.

'Man,' she thought to herself. 'Tiger boy is a big thundering twit.' Shaking her head, she pulled a pad of paper from her backpack and opened her textbook.

When she was finally caught up on her homework, she stood up and stretched. Glancing at her watch, she was shocked to find it was 8:30 pm. Quickly shoving her books into her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder, took her coffee cup up to the counter and ran out of the shop. Racing down the street, she turned into the station entrance and all but jumped down the flight of stairs. By the time she got to the platform, she could barely breathe. She sat down on a nearby bench to catch her breath and glanced around her. She saw Tiger boy standing on the other side of the platform looking down the tracks opposite to where she was sitting. He turned his head and catching her eye, gave her a slight smile and quick nod. She did the same as the announcement for the arrival of her train came over the station intercom. A few seconds later, the train pulled up and came to a stop. She stood and walked over to the door nearest to her. After waiting for people to get off, she went in and sat down by a window. Peeking out the window, she saw him getting on his own train, which was going in the opposite direction.


End file.
